Athens, June 24, 2014 – Ashoka Greece announced today that 20 finalists have been selected in the first Changemakers competition for Greece. The «Destination: Change. New Solutions for Greece» competition is an initiative by Ashoka, The Hellenic Initiative, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim Ellas, and SAP Hellas to source innovative solutions for social change in Greece.

The finalists, selected from more than 90 entries, represent the most innovative and promising solutions in the following areas of social impact for Greece:

A panel of expert judges will select the winners in the competition. The judges include: Eric Rosenthal, Founder and Executive Director of Disability Rights International (DRI); Michael Printzos, Program Director, The Hellenic Initiative; Ivan Juric, Head Programme Officer, Social Welfare & Community Development, John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation; Emmanuel Mitakis, Head of Communication & Global Making More Health Project, Boehringer Ingelheim Ellas; and Manos Raptopoulos, COO Head South Europe, Managing Director SAP Hellas, Cyprus & Malta.

The projects will be scored based on the Ashoka Changemakers criteria – innovation, social impact and sustainability. One entry will in each category will receive an award of €10,000, based on the Ashoka Changemakers criteria of innovation, social impact and sustainability, and one of these winners will receive SAP® Business One software with licenses for 3 users and training on using this software.

Ashoka is the leading global network of social entrepreneurs, working with men and women around the world who have developed systems-changing solutions to pressing societal challenges.

The Hellenic Initiative

The Hellenic Initiative (THI) is a global, nonprofit, secular institution whose vision is to mobilize the Greek diaspora and philhellene community to invest in the future of Greece through programs focused on crisis relief, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

Boehringer Ingelheim Ellas

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 140 affiliates and more than 46,000 employees. The Greek affiliate, established in 1966, is now the only multinational pharmaceutical company with its own manufacturing plant in the country. In the framework of the Making More Health initiative, Boehringer Ingelheim initiated in 2010 a global cooperation with the Ashoka organization. With this cooperation, it aims to provide, through social entrepreneurship, innovative solutions to critical health and living problems of people and communities around the world.

John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation

The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation continues the public service tradition of John S. Latsis by supporting and implementing public benefit initiatives in the fields of education, social welfare, scientific research and community development, with a geographic focus primarily on Greece. The Foundation endeavours to partner with its grantees and provide multilayered support in addition to financial assistance, in order to achieve the greatest possible impact.

SAP Hellas

Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, with locations in more than 130 countries, SAP is the world leader in enterprise software and software-related services. SAP Hellas SA was founded in October 1994 to spread SAP software in Greece. Since then, there have been more than 1380 installations in companies of all sizes. SAP Hellas SA offices are based in Athens and Nicosia serving Greece and Cyprus respectively.